This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Due to increased demand for four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles, many power transmission systems are being incorporated into vehicle driveline applications for transferring drive torque to the wheels. Many vehicles include a power transmission device operably installed between the primary and secondary drivelines. Such power transmission devices are typically equipped with a torque transfer mechanism for selectively transferring drive torque from the primary driveline to the secondary driveline to establish a four-wheel drive mode of operation.
Some power transmission devices are operable for automatically directing drive torque to the secondary wheels without any input or action on the part of the vehicle operator. When traction is lost at the primary wheels, a clutch is actuated for transferring torque to the secondary wheels to establish the four-wheel drive mode. Some power transmission devices are equipped with an electrically-controlled clutch actuator operable to regulate the amount of drive torque transferred across the clutch to the secondary driveline as a function of changes in vehicle operating characteristics such as vehicle speed, throttle position, and steering angle. While many power transmission devices are currently used in four-wheel drive vehicles, a need exists to advance the technology.